"I personally get a kick out of the cable guy who can appreciate my work on his own terms, while the academic art critic can excavate further and appreciate it on theirs."
Interview by Ryan Christian - ryan(at)fecalface.com
I originally started out in journalism, and then worked in comedy and animation for about a decade on shows like South Park, MADtv, and Seinfeld, as well as a fist-full of animated commercials -- some good, some bad. The way I saw it was commercial studios were the only arena left in animation that hadn't yet traded in all their pencils and paper for computers. But, no matter how you slice it, when you're working in commercials, you could be the most brilliant experimental animator, painstakingly manipulating and pixilating hand-pigmented salt with the ass feathers of a Siberian crane on an antique multi-plane camera, win big golden testicles at every prestigious international film festival, and in the end, all the 'powers that be' will say is, "boy howdy, that's gorgeous! Can you do that for my client, Gas-X?" In August 2004, I just quit everything, rented a studio, and started making work.
The larger the drawing, the easier it is to perfect details. Graphite and me have gotten past the awkward dating stage and are keeping a toothbrush and set of p.j.'s at each other's places. Colored pencil is getting there, even though on occasion it plays hard to get or won't return my call. I consciously like my work to maintain a look of ease, but I do log a ton of hours. Like Charlie Chaplin said, "art is the concealment of effort."
Guilty as charged. But, I can also draw a straight philosophical line from Confucius to Rodney Dangerfield. I don't know how clarity got such a bum rap, but I personally get a kick out of the cable guy who can appreciate my work on his own terms, while the academic art critic can excavate further and appreciate it on theirs.
I prepare a show the same way a comedian prepares stand-up material. I pull from everywhere -- my own dirty laundry included. The fact that a large portion of my work has a decidedly Hollywood-bent is likely a consequence of spending my whole life in la-la-land.
It all swims in the same murky stew. Every concept has its perfect medium. The trick is to find it.
That I'm a great lover.
This show is like a sexy poem. I want these pieces to flash in your mind when you're pissing in the shower.
I've got a few group shows upcoming in L.A., Chicago, Portland (Maine).
That my country and I have some things in common again. Hello, old friend...what's it been? Like 8 years?
Prop 8 is a joke. I hope when the dust settles, the definition of marriage will include marrying a well-manicured lawn if I want to. I can't believe that someone's rights should even come down to a ballot measure -- especially in California.
Jasper Johns (circa 1965): "Take an object. Do something to it. Do something else to it." Current: "Google something. Google something else. Photoshop it."
Yes. Alzheimer's and kitty AIDS.
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Eric Yahnker was born in Torrance, California. He received his B.F.A. in animation from the California Institute Of Arts and studied journalism at University of Southern California. Recent exhibitions include Dolly Parton Behind A Tree, Kim Light Gallery, Los Angeles, L.A. Potential, HangART-7, Salzburg, Austria, curated by Hubert Schmalix, Roger Herman, and Found/Gevonden/Trouve, Voorkamer, Lier, Belgium. He currently works and resides in Los Angeles, California. {moscomment}
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